From the limited reviews I have seen of the c35...it's just pretty heavy. Pretty close in performance with other similar thermals. The biggest gripe I have seen is weight. I have also seen the steiner in the EE for 2700. How much better is something like a bering yoter c? I'm new to thermal, so if I'm off base in any....I know I have more research to do

The main weapon-mounted thermal I used immediately prior to the C35 was the AN/PAS-13G LWTS which was one of the best you could buy for quite a while.  Even though the LWTS was several times more expensive than the C35 when I bought it, I prefer the C35 in almost every way.  I do not miss the LWTS even though it was the pride of my NV units when I first bought it.  The C35 image is every bit as good and the features are spectacular.  The fact that the image position can be adjusted is wonderful and the pic/video function is very handy and entertaining.  The only thing I sort of miss is the stand-alone mode that the LWTS had.  The fact that a weapon-mounted thermal this good can be had for $2-3k is simply astonishing to me having come from the AN/PAS-19 and -13B devices many moons ago.

I do not own a C35, but I do have a Yoter C (50mm) and Nox 18 (18mm). I've not looked through a C35 but have heard very good things. I went Yoter C because of the weight and reasonable FOV and have been happy with it. It's large to run in front of my PLXc 1-8 but it works well for that

Got an S 35 the stand alone gunsight and it's an impressive upgrade from the 300something Bering hogster I have sensor wise. All the Steiners thermals share a similar design. The Steiner is pretty techy with lots of features wifi, video, heated seats, I think you loose some of the techy shit when you move to clip on. These Steiner thermals are literally the size, shape and weight of a smallish brick with a battery pack on the side. I got a hella deal on it with a pretty big factory rebate and the 640 sensor is outstanding visual image is nice. It seems to be made of metal and although you should not use it in a blacksmith's shop I think you could beat someone to death with it remount it and it would work.

Since you are new to thermal I'll add this opnion Clipons can be kinda a niche item especially since this one needs an eye piece to be used as a handheld scanner and the eye piece seems to be out of stock alot. You end up doing shit with your night gear that you didnt envision. You are putting a 2 pound brick out, maybe way out on your rail and have to shoulder or at least get behind your scoped rifle and point it at everything you want to look at. If you are mostly stationary or shooting from tripods this isnt much of a problem but it can become an annoyance and usually results in buying a handheld thermal scanner I use NODs to help scan picking up movement then going to the gun as my ranges are shorter 200ish yards max.

General consensus is this is a contracted China made unit with a Steiner nameplate so dont think you are buying an American or German product.

Warrany period is a short 2 years.
Bering is at least 3 years
AGM has some stuff with 5 years


All that being said I like the S-35 over my Bering due to the sensor, image and techy shit.

I'll second that the S35 is a literal brick. Got mine from the 2022 BF blowout sale on the Gen 1 units and it provides a great image. I do wish the zoom function would just step at half or whole settings instead of going through tenths. Who the hell wants to shoot at 3.3x or 4.1x and have to hold down the zoom while it steps through all of those tenths? Just have it step through 1x - 1.5x - 2x - 2.5x - etc. It's my only real complaint.

Thx for the replies